Trying to Stay Focused

It’s 11/14/14 and it’s been 14 days since I last posted. The number 14 has no significance to me, and there was no intention in not posting 14 days from the time I last posted. My lack of posts is my very challenging attempt to stay focused. I so want my home to be simplified so our life can be simplified. I want my garage to NOT look like this:

And this was progress since August 23rd when we moved in!  Note the blue Toile couch in the background.  Read on to hear about that.

Wouldn’t you agree that life would be simpler, minus a garage like that?? I am making progress. Tools are put away. I like the peg board I inherited. With a few dollars I purchased some of the tools that fit into the little holes and have things up off the floor and out of drawers, so those spaces can be used for other things.  This is the type of thing I might share on my friend’s Twitter, Jillgetsitdone, that I talk more about below.

Ahhh… Progress and Success! Done this last weekend. Ignore the pile of extension cords. That will come later.

Downsizing from a whole house of about 3500 SF (which, isn’t THAT big.) then to 2500 SF, then to 1900 SF has been a huge challenge for me. Progress on the garage translates to progress for the entire house. It’s furniture, home décor, yard supplies, tools, ski equipment, sports gear, etc… and placing them or removing them entirely. I am making progress. Knowing when to toss something, so you won’t have to buy it later on, or knowing a fair asking price of something all takes time and consideration.  I have had several items on Craigslist for a couple of months. This weekend I have three appointments that I hope will result in sales. You’re probably wondering why I don’t just give these things away. Trust me. I’ve tried! One item is a sleeper sofa that I absolutely love.  It’s the one that’s peeking out of the photo above.  But here it is in a much prettier environment.

Isn’t it pretty! Who wouldn’t want it??

I would keep it if our new family room were bigger or if Bradley didn’t love our leather sectional so much. He couldn’t bear for me to give up the sectional, so the blue and white Toile couch with black fringed pillows gets the shove. I started out at $300.00, thinking that all women would love it as much as I.  Not only do all women not love it, but no one loved it, for as little as $75.00! I couldn’t even give it away. All the organizations you would think to suggest wouldn’t take it because it’s a sleeper sofa. That’s the story of one piece of furniture. Trust me, the other stories are similar.  Hence, they take up precious space that I can’t wait to claim.

My other focus is finding a job, which is literally like re-inventing the wheel with each resume I submit. Because I battle the lack of a degree and 20 years of experience, my cover letters must be compelling as I put my best foot forward. I have finally taken LinkedIn seriously and updated my profile to one that reflects my employment history and employment aptitude. I also spend time meeting with people who might be able to help me. Networking is so key to making connections. I love the time I spend doing it, because I love the energy I get from other people. I have to believe that time with others is well spent.

The whole job thing is hard for me, though. On one hand I feel capable of many things, and get distracted with so many opportunities.  And yet I laugh, because while I look forward to so many opportunities, I’m not qualified on paper for so many of the jobs in which I’m interested! That has to be a hope I get only from God, because any sane person would think I’m crazy.  I am looking at one opportunity where I will need to write an article which I will submit in the hopes of landing a writing assignment position.  I may take some on line courses in Social Media. I’m putting in about 15 minutes a day of Spanish, but I think I need to get more serious about that in order to be able to speak the language. I’ve got a lot of words memorized, but formulating a sentence is a whole different story (or sentence!).  Do I sound scattered?

I’m doing these things while I pick up sub jobs for the district but also prepare a friend’s house to rent. They moved out of state and I offered my services, knowing they would be paying someone to do the work anyway. It’s been a lot of logistics for the last couple of months, but we’re getting closer to getting it on the rental market. I’ve enjoyed doing it. I like managing things and people.  I’m ready for this gig to be up though, so I can move on to the next one.  If you’d like to move into the Portland suburbs, I have a beautiful 5,000 SF home for you. Pets allowed!

I’m still looking forward to an upgrade on my site. I met with the gal I referred to on my 10/31/14 post.  I’m excited to see what she can do, but she’s got a “real” job as well as some side projects, so I have to wait my turn. Once my site is operating the way I want it to, I’ll be more enthusiastic to post on it, knowing that I won’t have to make apologies for it.

Bridgette is doing well at OSU, but I made a trip to visit her last Sunday to help her sort out the learning curve of being on her own. I left with both of us satisfied. Bradley is suiting up for the Varsity playoff games. He’s not gotten a chance to play, but he’s ready to go if they need him. Tonight is Playoff Game 2, against the #2 seed. We’re a good team, so we’ll see if we’re that good. My TO DO list is long every day. A good friend encourages people to be productive on her Twitter account.  We both love to be productive, so it’s fun to share our stories of progress, or not.  I love her Twitter feed. On her Twitter she encourages people who want to be productive to post their accomplishments, and while they’re doing that, we all can learn from each other. I was able to post, COMCAST: CANCELLED!  I have spent hours (like 15 or more, seriously) on Comcast issues.  I’m looking forward to using my time differently.  No longer will I hear, “Oh! We see that you’re an Xfinity valued customer” while I listen to the same hold music for long durations and get transferred from one department after the other, all without any resolution to my problems.

I will close for now. I’ve exceeded my allotment of time and have violated my effort to stay focused on my home. To my left are several boxes that need to be unloaded. Back to productivity, not that this isn’t productive… see, I’m scattered.